Australia’s most accessible wilderness destination, the Blue Mountains National Park in New South Wales (NSW), has joined the ranks of Ecotourism Australia’s Certified Destinations, showcasing its commitment to best practice sustainable tourism in protected areas.

The park’s new status was announced in a ceremony on 28 October 2017 by the Hon Shayne Mallard MLC and National Parks and Wildlife Service Regional Director David Crust. It recognises the Blue Mountains National park – part of the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area (GBMWHA) – as a destination which demonstrates exceptional commitment and responsibility to the local community, the park’s natural and cultural values, and sustainable development.

“It’s great to have the Blue Mountains National Parks joining our growing number of Ecotourism Certified Destinations,” said Rod Hillman, CEO of Ecotourism Australia.

“It’s a real leadership statement by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service and demonstrates a clear understanding of their role and obligation to the natural environment and to visitors.”

The Blue Mountains National Park welcomes over 4 million visitors annually, 38% of which take part in at least one bushwalk. Famous for its massive sandstone cliffs, clear mountain streams, waterfalls and rivers, the park has long prided itself on sharing some of Australia’s most breathtaking vistas, including along the National Pass (Wentworth Falls), Grand Canyon (Blackheath) and Three Sister (Katoomba) walking tracks. Walking tracks cover approximately 320km of the park, and attract 1.37 million visitors per year alone.

“The restoration project [of the Grand Canyon Track] has been an enormous undertaking covering 4.5 kilometres in some of the most hostile terrain for walking track construction in Australia.

The Ecotourism Destination Certification program is based on the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) criteria for destinations and adapted to ensure relevance to large-scale and high-visitation protected areas.